1981 Discography - World Of Motley Crue

Nikki, Tommy and Mick were demoing tunes in circa March 1981 and were working with a vocalist named O'Dean Peterson. At the same time they were looking for other singers and Tommy gave Vince a demo tape. Vince joined the band and recorded his own vocals in April. By their first shows at The Starwood on April 24th-25th they had pressed a single 45 of the tunes "Toast Of The Town" and "Stick To Your Guns." In the next few months the band put together four songs on a cassette for promotional purposes. The two songs from the 45 as well as "Public Enemy #1" and "Take Me To The Top." These last two tunes were possibly demoed in circa May and the band made video performances of the songs. In the 21st century fans were treated with the discovery and release of two songs from Motley's first April sessions: "Nobody Knows What It's Like to Be Lonely" and a cover of the Raspberries song, "Tonight." Some Crue fans had already heard these songs back in the day as they are performed on the April 24-25th Starwood video bootleg.
 
Recorded March-April, 1981 at Crystal Sound Studios at 1014 Vine St, Hollywood with engineer Laura Livingston.

 1. Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely
    [aka "I Got The Power"]
     -First and only official release in 2001 on the Lewd, Crued and Tattooed DVD. This song was not even in bootleg circles previous to this release. The only other surviving performance of this song is from the April 24-25th Starwood bootleg. The song sounds to be playing back at a slow speed and could be tweaked to play slightly faster. This is also the longest song the band ever recorded (approx. 7 minutes).
2. Tonight [originally recorded by The Raspberries]
     -First officially released in 1999 on the "Crucial Crue" [Motley Records] "Too Fast For Love." This was not even in bootleg circles previously. The only other Motley performance of this song is from the April 24-25th The Starwood bootleg. It is also included on the 2003 Motley/Hip-O Records "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" box set (Disc 2).
3. Toast of the Town    
     -First released on the April 1981 "Leather Records" 45 rpm single. Side B to Side A's "Stick To Your Guns." Then on the c. June 1981 "Coffman & Coffman" promo cassette along with "Stick To Your Guns," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me To The Top." In 1999 it was re-released/remastered on the "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track) as well as 2003's "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" Box Set (Disc 2) and 2005's "Red, White And Crue" (Disc 1). "Toast" was remastered in the digital age and is slightly different than previous versions but it is all from the single original recording from early 1981.
  4. Stick To Your Guns
     -First released on the April 1981 "Leather Records" 45 rpm single. Side A to Side B's "Toast Of The Town." Then in June 1981 on the "Coffman & Coffman" promo cassette along with "Toast Of The Town," "Public Enemy #1," and "Take Me To The Top."


Recorded circa May, 1981 at Crystal Sound Studios at 1014
Vine St, Hollywood with engineer Laura Livingston.

5. Public Enemy #1
     -only official release on the June "Coffman & Coffman" promotional cassette.
6. Take Me To The Top
     -only official release on the June "Coffman & Coffman" promotional cassette.

[Motley filmed promotional videos for both songs at International Rehearsal Studios circa May, 1981.] 


*****The above information for Motley's first six recordings is as close to accurate as I've been able to estimate what with the skimpy info they've provided regarding their early recording sessions. The often told story that Vince was so new to the band that you can hear the pages turning on the recording as he sings along to lyric sheets is funny but I've never heard those pages. "Public Enemy #1" and "Take Me To The Top" do sound like Vince is new to the material and the band. He's out of tune periodically and seems to not know lyrics despite the cheat sheets! "Nobody Knows" and "Tonight" are supposed to be the first two songs the band recorded and they sound surprisingly competent, considering, so I wonder what the actual order and state of these tracks is. Their first singer, Odean Peterson, stated in 1984 that he demoed all of the aforementioned tunes with them in March, except "Take Me To The Top" so it could be from the second session in May. *****

Paul Miles gives a circa October-November 1981 date for the Leathur "Too Fast For Love" recording session "over a drunken four days at Hit City West Studios on the corner of Pico and La Cienega boulevards." Wikipedia says it happened in October. "German producer Michael Wagener is brought to the helm of the brand-new Soundcraft 2400 series console board."
The following photo of Wagener with Vince comes from the amazing Crue collection of Ryan Anderson. 
 

October-November, 1981, Hill City West Studios, L. A., CA

Too Fast For Love [Leathur Records]

1. Live Wire
2. Public Enemy #1
3. Take Me To The Top
4. Merry-Go-Round
5. Piece Of Your Action
6. Starry Eyes
7. Stick To Your Guns
     -1999 "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track).
8. Come On And Dance
9. Too Fast For Love    
     -1999 "Crucial Crue" "Too Fast For Love" (bonus track).
     -2003 "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" box set (Disc 2). 
10. On With The Show

-The album was released November 10th. See below for more versions and later releases.
-2003's "Music To Crash Your Car To Vol. 1" has a needle-drop of the full Leathur LP (Disc 1).

Before the band signed with Elektra in 1982 and the album was edited and re-released there were several printings of the Leathur version. An Italian Cruehead made a page explaining the different pressings.

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The Vince and Michael Wagener photo is from Motley fan Ryan Anderson who has a Facebook group called "The Leathur Lair - Motley Crue Collection" where he shares his one-of-a-kind images and memorabilia from the 1981-1982 era. Ryan's collection is a stunning gathering of Coffman-era Crue collectibles and the group has become a kind of meeting place for fans and early Motley associates who share memories and their own rare memorabilia. Ryan is very open with his rarities and he has graciously allowed me to share some of his watermarked images at this blog. If you want to see the amazing Crue memories at his group just search and join at Facebook.